Every person who is prone to alcohol cravings periodically asks the question "How to stop drinking alcohol on your own? " This is a signal that he is really ready to try and maybe overcome the desire for the bottle.
How to quit alcohol yourself: first steps
If the addiction to alcohol has gone too far, the patient can no longer think in space and be responsible for his actions, and it is impossible to stop drinking on his own. Even in a good clinic, his return to a full life will be problematic. But in the first and second stages of alcoholism, everything is much simpler and the treatment of the problem is quite realistic:
- Episodic drinking. A person drinks alcohol rarely, without any regularity. In a hangover, alcohol causes a strong revulsion. But the first phase quickly turns into the second.
- Ritual drunkenness. This stage is distinguished by the fact that a person uses regularly for various reasons. A party or other event and alcoholic libations become synonymous.
- Habitual drinking is characterized by the regular consumption of alcohol two or more times per week. An alcoholic does not necessarily have any reason for this, but out of habit he may seek and express them. Lack of memory often occurs the next morning.
There are only two ways to stop drinking on your own: completely stop drinking alcohol by voluntary decision forever or gradually reduce the dose. Before that, you need to understand and accept that excessive drinking is a problem that needs to be solved. Options for coding by sewing on certain drugs are not considered here. Anyone can quit this habit on their own, and you just have to figure it out if you are one of those strong-willed people.
Whose help do you need to quit drinking for good?
People who want to stop drinking alcohol do not always know how to do it and who to contact. If you plan to start on your own, perhaps the support of friends and family will be enough. This is one of the pillars that helps you quit drinking alcohol.
A narcologist gives advice on how to stop drinking alcohol on your own and helps to remove the effects of alcohol from the body. Detoxification usually lasts a day. As for the recommendations, to return to a full life, the doctor can prescribe some medicines:
- medicines to help cope with a hangover;
- formulations and tablets that reduce the desire for alcohol or cause aversion to it.
A psychologist can also easily help you stop drinking. Along with it, the addict will be able to understand the reason that drives him to the bottle. This is one of the most important things to understand in moving forward towards an alcohol-free life. The psychologist also helps not to break and restore relationships with loved ones.
What does a drunk experience when he stops drinking?
The body needs time to establish all processes after the cessation of libations. Poisoning goes away gradually and is accompanied by unpleasant and painful sensations in the head, heart, muscles and gastrointestinal tract. Convulsions, hallucinations and high blood pressure are possible. Tremors, increased anxiety and restlessness, trouble sleeping, and sudden mood swings may also occur. This can continue for up to a month. If you want to stop drinking with minimal physical discomfort, you will need to undergo a detoxification procedure. It is performed in clinics and medical centers. Hangover medications can also help reduce symptoms.
In case of panic attacks, strong tremors and anxiety, you should call an ambulance, as these conditions are characteristic of the occurrence of delirium tremens. Ignoring the symptoms can lead to serious health problems. Sometimes delirium tremens leads to death.
Help from private clinics
Those who use the help of drug treatment centers have a greater chance of not relapsing and giving up alcohol. As for how to stop drinking alcohol forever, private clinics give priority to state drug treatment centers. This is due to many factors, but the main three are: the use of more powerful coding techniques, a group of narcologists and psychologists to work with patients, and the high cost of services. The first and second increase the effectiveness of treatment, the third also motivates the patient and his family. Outpatient treatment of alcoholism is, of course, more effective than the patient's attempts to cope with the problem at home.
Before a patient can stop drinking alcohol, the clinic must detoxify the body. Then they code using cue or medication. The Dovzhenko method and the subcutaneous injection of drugs that cause an aversion to drinking alcohol have proven themselves to be very effective. After that, the patient is offered to spend several weeks in the clinic hospital to make it easier to get out of the vicious circle and experience physical withdrawal under the supervision of medical personnel. This approach to quitting drinking is usually accomplished by working with a psychologist.
How to stop drinking on your own without clinics
It is extremely difficult to get rid of a bad habit on your own, since drinking alcohol improves the mood and makes life easier and more pleasant. However, this is possible if the disease has not gone too far. How to stop drinking on your own, step by step:
- Admit there is a problem. This is the most important step.
- Find the cause of alcoholism. More often it is a desire to simplify life or a habit due to a drinking environment. If it is quite easy to part with friends or colleagues - all you have to do is move to another city or reduce communication to a minimum, but the first reason is more difficult. You will have to seriously try to eradicate the habit of hiding from problems behind a bottle.
- Choose a goal. It should be accessible. If you have a weak will, then it is better to give up alcohol gradually, reducing the dose so that after six months you stop drinking alcohol completely.
- Find the motive. This is close to setting a goal, but unlike it, there may be several motives. For example, improving relationships with family and relatives, keeping a job, improving material well-being and health.
- Choose the right moment. This is an important part of how to stop drinking for good.
- Find the right methods to stop drinking. Desire or strong will alone is usually not enough. To help patients, many medications have been developed that can be used at home. But the doctor still has to choose them, based on the individual characteristics of the body and the course of the disease, so going to an appointment with a narcologist at least once is simply necessary. It will show you how to stop drinking without coding, if you want to start without it.
- Ask someone to check you. It is much easier to quit if there is a support group and an important person who helps to avoid temptations and monitor the implementation of the developed plan to return to normal life.
- Find new hobbies, replace alcohol with other drinks. Sometimes you need to change your environment and give up some old hobbies.
- Follow a diet. Some foods make you want to drink. In such cases, you should replace drinking your usual alcohol with some other drink. For example, kvass, compote, tea.
The right time to stop drinking
People who have been able to return to sobriety talk about the importance of timing. It's easier to quit drinking after a serious drinking session or even an extended binge. Then you won't be haunted by the realization that you "never got drunk" in the end.
There is no easy way to stop drinking on your own. This is a struggle that a person has to fight with himself.
A way to stop drinking fast
The highest percentage of success in getting rid of a bad habit is in those people who code by sewing special substances under the skin. They make it impossible to drink alcohol: immediately after a small amount of alcohol enters the patient's body, a person begins to experience strong unpleasant sensations. This method is great if the patient does not want to advertise their problem. Perhaps the easiest way to quickly stop drinking at home.
15 recommendations on how to stop drinking alcohol
There are some tricks and recommendations from narcologists, psychologists and those people who have already overcome their addiction:
- Avoid companies where frequent consumption of alcohol is encouraged. If such people are among your friends, you should communicate with them less often.
- Remove all alcohol from the home. You can pour it or give it to one of your friends who drinks in moderation.
- Don't celebrate the holidays with alcohol and don't look for reasons or excuses to give yourself a little "day off" of relaxation.
- Don't feel sorry for yourself. You have a worthy goal, not a punishment. Quitting drinking on weekends and in general will help you achieve a lot in life.
- Work helps take my mind off the drinking a bit.
- Try to find new hobbies and interests.
- Find out how your acquaintances or friends stopped drinking on weekends or stopped drinking alcohol. Communicate with them often to get moral support and useful advice.
- Try to remember what it's like to have fun and have an interesting time without alcohol intoxication. How people have fun without alcohol can be learned from those who do not drink for religious reasons, because of their beliefs, profession or sport.
- It is advisable to change your daily routine, get enough sleep and eat the right food. You should not eat foods that stimulate the desire to drink: spicy and salty foods, fish, sweets, coffee. It is necessary to drink as much water as possible - this starts the metabolic processes in the body and promotes the elimination of alcohol.
- Every morning should start pleasantly: with a delicious healthy breakfast, an invigorating shower or positive music that you like.
- Add sports to your life. Even a short workout will help you feel more alive and improve your well-being.
- Try to plan your day. How can this help you stop drinking at home? It's simple - you will be busy with business or communicating with friends and relatives who do not drink. This will help you avoid temptation.
- Celebrate completed tasks and be sure to praise yourself for them to boost your mood and prove to yourself that you can do a lot more without alcohol. You can also reward yourself with various pleasures: food, shopping, communication with nice people.
- Meet new people and communicate more about interesting topics. Try to fill your free time with pleasant and interesting things as much as possible: religion, art, sports, movies.
- How to effectively stop drinking at home? You can also post posters and notes around the house with motivational phrases. They should be updated and changed location periodically.